Tips to get a vintage sound on a mix

Lord Target

Lord Target

New member
Hi

I´m new in this forum and I´m very pleased to be a member. I´ve been reading and hearing really good material around here.

I´m about to get started a pre-production for a future album and I would like to hear from you guys if there are any particular tips to get a vintage sound on a mix, beside using vintage instruments.

I´m looking for a result like this band, that I enjoy a lot.

You tube: Free Fall - World Domination

Any tip is welcome

thanx

LT
 
Record it using top of the line, state of the art, modern technology and then let it sit for 20 years. That's exactly how they created that "vintage sound" back in the day.

Sorry, I didn't check your link since I'm at work...
 
Honestly, to get a 'vintage' sound (when I hear vintage, I'm thinking 20's. What decade are you talking about?) it doesn't matter about the gear. It matters about the arrangement. The recording techniques. The songwriting itself.

Time and time again people have told me (often time with praise) that my recordings sound like the 70s, yet it has nothing to do with my gear. All my gear is less than 10 years old, including the instruments and recording stuff. I just write and arrange and use techniques that were popular in that time, and my recordings came out as such. I don't even use gimmicky stuff like Vintage Warmer plug-ins or stuff like that. I just use modern stuff, but in a way they used stuff back then.

And to be honest, I'm not even trying to get a 70's sound, its just that's the way it comes out (considering I mostly listen to 70s music, think this is just an unintended side effect). Which gets me thinking, people who try and make thigns sound vintage usually fail.

tl;dr don't worry about the gear, just worry about the songs, arrangements, and recording techniques.
 
ashcat_lt said:
Record it using top of the line, state of the art, modern technology and then let it sit for 20 years. That's exactly how they created that "vintage sound" back in the day.
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Lol! Good point. That's really how it's done.

Now, to get even more anal, define "vintage". Vintage what? Frank Sinatra vintage? Sun records vintage? British invasion vintage? I can go on and on, but I think one gets the point. Vintage can mean a million things.
 
RAMI said:
Lol! Good point. That's really how it's done.

Now, to get even more anal, define "vintage". Vintage what? Frank Sinatra vintage? Sun records vintage? British invasion vintage? I can go on and on, but I think one gets the point. Vintage can mean a million things.
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I agree w you. That´s why I posted the band and the sound I was aiming.
 
Seafroggys said:
And to be honest, I'm not even trying to get a 70's sound, its just that's the way it comes out (considering I mostly listen to 70s music, think this is just an unintended side effect). Which gets me thinking, people who try and make thigns sound vintage usually fail.

tl;dr don't worry about the gear, just worry about the songs, arrangements, and recording techniques.
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I really enjoyed the colours of your song! I cant explain technically what I mean by getting this vintage colour. I will try to get some reading about it on the net.

But I t was already worth to get to know your music. That´s the kind of sound i will try to get

thanx
 
Lord Target said:
I agree w you. That´s why I posted the band and the sound I was aiming.
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How about a band/song we've actually heard of? I'm at work, I can't really listen, and so often these turn out to be subtle band spam for the poster's own band, anyway. But if you could tell me vintage like Led Zep, vintage like an old Stax single, vintage like Dark Side of the Moon, vintage like CCR or the Stones, or whatever, we could probably give you some guidance.
 
For those who haven't listened to the song....think '80s Metallica but a little lighter and with those classic cardboard-sounding toms.

At least that's what I compare it to. Like if 80s Metallica did normal rock.
 
It's fairlly standard late 70s hard guitar rock sort of sound for mine.

To answer your question, you would get that sound by getting the actual players to make that sound - so the guy there appears to have a Strat going into a Marshall of some sort - now maybe that's not what he's actually playing in the studio but it sort of sounds like it is... you want that sound, get a Strat going into a Marshall - that's the core of the sound, that and the craggy voiced singer.

I don't think there's any particular effect in mixing or mastering that's been used to get a "vintage sound" - it's down to creating it at the source in the first place and then recording it...
 
If you look at classic rock tracks pre the loudness wars, there is clearly more dynamic range. Following Bob Katz' thinking, set the RMS average levels (not peaks) on your master bus at -12 or -14 with your peaks hitting near (but still under) zero. i limit at -.3, but that's a personal decision for people to make.

Another old school technique is left-center-right panning.

If you are using digital delays and reverbs on your aux buses, roll back the highs to simulate analog gear.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
How about a band/song we've actually heard of? I'm at work, I can't really listen, and so often these turn out to be subtle band spam for the poster's own band, anyway. But if you could tell me vintage like Led Zep, vintage like an old Stax single, vintage like Dark Side of the Moon, vintage like CCR or the Stones, or whatever, we could probably give you some guidance.
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These bands you´ve mentioned are great indeed. So,to point one of those, I would say those Vol. 4 - Black sabbath has a cool vintage atmosphere.

i´ve mentioned this swedish band - Free Fall - ´cause they are brand new and they are highly mentioned to get best classic rock award by the classic rock magazine.

But I could point as well Wolfmother and Rival Sons. I really like these new bands sounding like seventies and all.
 
Tom Hicks said:
If you look at classic rock tracks pre the loudness wars, there is clearly more dynamic range. Following Bob Katz' thinking, set the RMS average levels (not peaks) on your master bus at -12 or -14 with your peaks hitting near (but still under) zero. i limit at -.3, but that's a personal decision for people to make.

Another old school technique is left-center-right panning.

If you are using digital delays and reverbs on your aux buses, roll back the highs to simulate analog gear.
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Thanx mate! That´s the kind of tip i was looking for. I will try it this week these advices. We gonna record some guidance guitar tracks for the drummer, and it´s a good time to start experimenting things out.
 
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Armistice said:
It's fairlly standard late 70s hard guitar rock sort of sound for mine.

To answer your question, you would get that sound by getting the actual players to make that sound - so the guy there appears to have a Strat going into a Marshall of some sort - now maybe that's not what he's actually playing in the studio but it sort of sounds like it is... you want that sound, get a Strat going into a Marshall - that's the core of the sound, that and the craggy voiced singer.

I don't think there's any particular effect in mixing or mastering that's been used to get a "vintage sound" - it's down to creating it at the source in the first place and then recording it...
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yet, I still think these mixing pushing for 70´s has a kind distance in the spectrum. I dont know exactly what it is. I dont know If i could get these colours only at the mastering stage, like a paint coat, ya know.

Or if we should try by every tone on the recording process...

Sort of, I´m afraid to get a vintage tone on guitars - but the recording itself will sound really up to date.... that´smy main fear and challenge

I really dont have a clue if I should go to some plugins that will emulate someold echo stuff and so on... anyways... thanx for the interest
 
I think a big part of that sound (sans the distortion and specific pedals and guitar) is the drums. Its not the Zep Bottom drums....its the dry but compressed drum sound that was popular then from early metal to even the Eagles in that era from guys like Glyn Johns. Have a listen to stuff he produced. The old Who, the Stones, the Clash...
The toms had a hard edge hard knee compression that sounded like the skins were about to snap. Fast attack and release and about 5 to 6:1 ratio. Maybe 3 to 5 db below threshold. . Now I use all higher end analogue gear but I am sure there are plug ins that can get close.
Just another idea.
 
put it through tape or DL some UAD tape emulators, AMPEX is the shit, it could even make One Direction sound vintage as fk
 
It's not the gear, but the performance.

Gear is one aspect of how things sound, but it really isn't the "magic fix-it" button that people tend to think it is.

The biggest difference between "back then" and "today" is that today we tend to record into a computer using some form of DAW, matching to a click track, and recording one track at a time. "Back in the day" they didn't do that. The whole band got together and played the song from beginning to end over and over again until they got it right. People don't do it that way very much any more. Instead more and more songs are recorded in a social vacuum without musician interaction. While a click can help a poor drummer keep time, or a good drummer keep time on a really slow song, they weren't used all of the time like they are today. Without the click track, bands sped up and slowed down as they "FELT" the music, instead of being whipped into shape by "BLEEP, beep, beep, beep".

Try and record the band all at once if you can. If the band is good and can perform the songs well, then let them perform the song.

I hope this helps in some way. :D
 
Raymeous said:
Gear is one aspect of how things sound, but it really isn't the "magic fix-it" button that people tend to think it is.

Try and record the band all at once if you can. If the band is good and can perform the songs well, then let them perform the song.

I hope this helps in some way. :D
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Thanx. It´s a possibility as well. I´ve read about that as well. But as you´ve mentioned, the performance has to be OK. If you´ve got the yo yo dance on tracks, i doubt that any label will consider a deal to distribute your cd or whatsoever to your band.
 
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